Asian Conference on Disaster Reduction 201113‐15 June 2011
Colombo, SRI LANKA

19 April 2011

OVERVIEWThe Government of Sri Lanka, Government of Japan, and Asian Disaster Reduction Center (ADRC) arejointly organizing the Asian Conference on Disaster Reduction 2011 (ACDR 2011) on June 13‐15, 2011 atCinnamon Grand Hotel in Colombo, Sri Lanka in cooperation with International Strategy for DisasterReduction. Over 100 practitioners, experts, and policymakers from ADRC member countries as well asrepresentatives from different partner organizations are anticipated to participate to share experiences
and take forward appropriate measures for disaster reduction.
RATIONALE
Disasters with more devastating effects are increasing worldwide, and Asia is the most prone region.
In Japan, the scale of damage from the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami was unprecedented in acountry that is well prepared for disasters. In 2010, China, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Thailand experienced
intensive flooding while Indonesia was hit by earthquake and subsequent tsunami back to back withvolcanic eruption. Other regions were not spared. Earthquakes were experienced in Haiti, Chile, New
Zealand, and Myanmar; unprecedented flooding occurred in Australia; heat waves hit Russia; and manyother disasters were experienced elsewhere. These disasters are expected to intensity with climatechange.
The Hyogo Framework for Action 2005‐2015 (HFA) promotes “the integration of risk reduction withclimate variability and climate change into strategies for the reduction of disaster risk and adaptation toclimate change”. Regular regional and global gatherings such as Asian Ministerial Conference and Global
Platform have been organized to further accelerate the implementation of HFA.
The ACDR2011 will follow through the recommendations from the 4th Asian Ministerial Conferenceon Disaster Risk Reduction (4AMCDRR) in Incheon, October 25‐28, 2010 and the 3rd Session of Global
Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (Global Platform 2011) in Geneva, May 8‐13, 2011. The 4AMCDRR,
with the theme “Disaster Risk Reduction through Climate Change Adaptation”, adopted Incheon
REMAP‐‐ a regional road map for promoting regional cooperation on DRR through CCA. The overall
theme of the Global Platform 2011 is “Invest Today for a Safer Tomorrow – Increased Investment inLocal Action”. ACDR2011 will take forward the Incheon REMAP and localize the Chair’s Summary at theGlobal Platform in ADRC member counties. It will also provide ADRC member countries the opportunity
to further strengthen its network as well as share recent efforts and technical updates on DRR.
FORMAT
ACDR 2011 will be organized according to the following format.

 DRR‐CCA Sessions. Select countries and agencies will report on climate hazards and showcase soundpractices/technologies. Group discussions will be organized based on the following themes (i)climate change prediction, weather forecasting, down‐scaling, and modeling of rainfall, flooding,and inundation; (ii) early warning and evacuation system, shelter, use of technologies – including
ICTs and space technologies; and (iii) micro‐finance/insurance at community level, and constraints inrecovery process. Group recommendations on way forward will be presented at the plenary.
 Reporting of Experiences and Activities. ADRC member countries that have recently experienced
disasters will present the challenges and lessons. This will be followed by updates on (i) 4AMCDRR
outcomes, (ii) preparations for the 5AMCDRR in Indonesia, and (iii) Global Platform 2011 Summary.
ADRC activities of FY 2010 are presented. ADRC Steering Committee meeting will also be organized,
wherein proposed activities for FY2011 will be presented and discussed.
 Site Visit. Participants will visit the sites for flood and environmental improvement projects. The
Disaster Management Center (DMC) of the Government of Sri Lanka coordinates the visit.
EXPECTED OUTCOMES
1. ACDR Chair’s Summary will commit the implementation of key priority actions of the Incheon
REMAP and propose tangible activities that will accelerate the implementation of HFA at the locallevels among ADRC member countries
2. Agreement on tangible mechanisms for sharing and application of updated DRR‐CCA knowledge andtools among ADRC member countries
3. Further strengthened network of ADRC member countries and relevant organizations
Venue
Cinnamon Grand Hotel, Colombo, Sri Lanka
http://www.cinnamonhotels.com/CinnamonGrandColombo.htm

DOCUMENTS
Presentations materials and relevant documents will be uploaded at ADRC website (www.adrc.asia)
as soon as these become available.

REGISTRATION
Participants are kindly requested to submit completed registration form by 8 May 2011 toACDR2011 Secretariat (acdr2011cmb@adrc.asia).

CONTACT
ACDR2011Secretariat
Focal: Masaru ARAKIDA (Mr.)
Tel.: +81 78 262 5540
Fax: +81 78 262 5546
Email: acdr2011cmb@adrc.asia